CHAPTER 1
PROLOGUE
"Ma'am, have you done this before?"
The doctor asked me in between my piercing screams. She was trying to adjust me to be comfortable on the bed.
"Ahh!!! No, I haven't. Ahh!!!"
"Okay here's the drill, try to breathe steadily and I'll tell you when to push okay?.."
"Okaahh!!"
There I was in the hospital bed gasping for breath as the doctor and nurses ran around my room putting things in order for the delivery of my baby.
I was only sixteen years of age,
Too young to feel this immense pain I was feeling,
Too young to be pregnant for a man old enough to be my father,
Too young to be bring children into this world, Twins for that matter.
And certainly too young to be abandoned by her family who were supposed to support her through the toughest of times.
Too young for it all.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!"
I screamed as another wave of contraction hit me, I couldn't believe I was on my own. No husband, No boyfriend, No support system, I was doing it all on my own. Trust me it's tougher than I am letting on but in my defense...
I never wanted to be married to a complete stranger at sixteen,
I never wanted to bring life to this world, at least not until my twenty-fifth birthday,
I never wanted to go through the whole pain of labor, at least not all by myself with no one waiting at the other end of the door for me,
I never wanted any of that.
How I got about it all I know not, how I got more than what I bargain I really don't know. But what I do know is I regret the day I called Olufakemi my Father. He had been nothing but a scum bag to?his only daughter and his wife(my mother) who is 6feet under right now. Thanks to the man I called father who single handedly punched the living daylight out of my mother sending her to an early grave. All because he caught her shopping with his best friend Michael Aleshiloye.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!"
I screamed again as the last wave of contraction hit me. I couldn't believe that the next scream will be that of my children, the beautiful souls I would single handedly bring to this world all on my own. Too bad they belong to that lying cheating good for nothing bastard my father calls a best friend.
As I wallowed in self-pity I noticed the female doctor and nurse in my ward had gathered around my wildly opened legs. They were hanging firmly in the air thanks to the metal that was strapped?around, holding them in place.
This was it,
The moment I finally gain my freedom again
The moment I will be free from all the weird glances people throw my way.
The moment I finally get rid of this pest that had been weighing me down.
The moment I get rid of it all.
I was going to be a mother whether I liked it or not and I didn't like it one bit. It was supposed to be a thing of joy, but for me, it was a thing of pain, sorrow, anguish, heartbreak, and regret.
As the doctor instructed me to push, I did with all my might. Screaming at the top of my lungs I put in more effort in pushing these beautiful souls out of my body. In that moment, I made a wish, a wish that I wished never came true.
I woke up 10 hours later after an exhausting labor only to find out that all my efforts in birthing the twins, my twins to life was all in vain.
"I am so sorry ma'am but we did everything we could but it wasn't good enough. It's like they disappear out of thin air."
"Are you saying what I think you are saying?"
I asked just to be sure I heard right, just to be sure she knew what she was saying, just to be sure she meant what she was saying, just to be sure my wish wasn't granted.
"I am sorry ma'am but your twins were kidnapped shortly after birth."
I screamed with the energy I had managed to gain in 10 hours. My twins had been kidnapped and I never got to see them, let alone cuddle them. It was then I realized the depths of the saying.
...
Be careful what you wish for, it just might come true
...
They needed a head girl
We needed the attention
They needed the principles of an iron fist
We needed the popularity.
They needed one who would represent their school in a good light
We needed something to brag about
But then we got something else, something we never bargained for. The consequences of my action as the head girl of Wesley Academy wasn't something I couldn’t foretell.
The drastic and unpredictable turns our lives took shocked us to the very core.
Being the head girl and being a twin has its perks, especially when the twin in question is a certified Nerd. Not everything went our way neither did it turn out the way we planned and just when we thought things wouldn't get any worse it actually did...
SS3 was supposed to be the year of glitter and glamour but instead, it turned out to be more gruesome and mind-numbing than we all anticipated. Trusts were broken, secrets where exposed, tears where shed, lives were lost and of course in midst of this all love ensured or so I thought.
Hang on your about to meet us, but first this happened...
~Matilda~
I stirred on my side of the bed blinking a few times before opening my eyes. Yawning tiredly I stretched a bit before picking up my infinix hot 8 phone. It was a few minute to 6 and I knew the alarm clock was going to ring in 3, 2, 1
"Beep beep beep beep beep" I heard it ring immediately just after my countdown.
"Urgh, shut up, I'm awake already you stupid alarm." I groaned. And yell at the inanimate objects called an alarm clock.
I hated the fact that my beauty sleep always had to be interrupted, thanks to the stupid technological device. Who the hell invented it anyway? Probably some lowlife loser who didn't have anything better to do.
I was going through my WhatsApp stories while gathering momentum to get out of bed, reluctantly. And my mom shouted.
"Matilda Aderonkeeee!! Get your lazy ass out of bed!! Breakfast isn't going to make it selfff!!!"
"Coming mommm!!" I yelled back, finally getting out of bed and heading for the only bathrooms we have in the hallway with my towel.
On getting to the bathroom. I made sure to knock at least trice just to be sure the place was vacant. Trust me, you don't want to know what I wish I could unsee if I didn't knock.
Once I was sure the coast was clear, I finally entered the bathroom to do my business. Thirty minutes later, I rushed out of the bathroom and back to the room I shared with my little sister. Looking at her, sleeping peacefully on her side on the bed that we share, made me wish I was a child again.
I checked the time on the alarm clock that woke me up this morning, and my eye almost popped out of its socket. I couldn't believe it was nearly 6:00 am and I needed to be in school by seven if I was going to make it in time for the prefectship inauguration. Quickly, I woke my little sister up as subtle as possible, whispering sweet words into her ears just to get her to open her eyes.
Thankfully it worked. She opened her eyes slowly, a huge smile gracing her face as she did. She mumbled a 'good morning' to me in her half awake half asleep states. To get her fully awake and out of bed, I did the one thing she despised and enjoyed at the same time. I tickled her, and within seconds she was out of bed and running towards the bathroom.
Once she was out of the room, I focused on myself. I was drying myself of all the droplets of water on my body. Moving as fast as I could, I applied my pears baby lotion, wore my multicolored undies before putting on my school uniform. While I was busy adjusting myself in my senior school uniform, my younger sister Melody walked in shivering.
"Hey Melody, you good?" I asked.
"Theee wwwater... It's cold." She said, shivering.
"Awwwwn, sorry about that. C'mon, I'll get your school uniform, we don't want to be late for school."
While she was busy dressing up, I busied myself with my hair, styling my knotless braids into a ponytail. I left a few to fall free on my face. I applied a little bit of brown powder to brighten my face, a little bronzer, and blush for more colour, not wanting to leave my lips bare. I used my signature maroon coloured lip gloss. See, just because we are 5, living in a 3 bedroom flat and sharing the same bathroom, doesn't mean we are poor.
Moving on, I looked myself over one more time before attending to my sister, who was having trouble wearing her shoes. Once I have helped her with hers, I quickly wore mine, which was a black wedge canvas. I grabbed both our bags, sprayed perfme on both of us before we headed out of our room, heading straight for the sitting room.
We greeted our parents, who both worked at Radisson Hotel. We weren't a million dollars rich, but we certainly weren't poor either.
"Finally! I thought you were never going to come out of that room of yours." My mother complained after we greeted them, but dad just nodded his head in acknowledgment of our greeting.
My dad is more of the quiet type, and that makes me wonder how he even woed my mom. While mom on the other hand, is the description of a chatterbox always talking but rarely gets to the point. Without her, the whole house will be unbearably quiet, that's why I try as much as I can to enjoy her company.
Leaving the sitting room, I make my way to the kitchen to get breakfast ready. To my utmost surprise, I meet my elder brother Miguel serving breakfast already. I was too surprised to say a thing; I just stared at his back view. As if sensing my presence, he spoke while setting the food on the small dining table we have in the kitchen.
"Well, if it isn't my little sister Matilda. Are you going to just stand there, or you're going to help out?" He said.
Jotting back to reality, I came to his side, helping him to set the food on the table. Seconds later, we were all sitting having a quiet breakfast until my dad, for the first time, broke the silence.
"Ehem, kids…" He coughed. "Your mother and I have found a new place of work. We would now be working at a new hotel. It's called the Broken Heart Galla. I would like you all to attend its opening party this weekend."
See what I mean by a man of few words? If it were mom who made the announcement, I would miss my inauguration. Speaking of which, if I don't take out the dishes now, I'll be running late. Before I could open my mouth to say a word, my elder brother Miguel beat me to it.
"Whao dad, that's huge. So we are moving from grass to grace? Man, that is good news! Congratulations Mom and Dad, I am so happy for you." Miguel said.
My brother, who is in his third year studying mechanical engineering at the University of California, has all my mom's features; caramel light skin, big brown eye pink lips, and a slightly pointed nose with a slim figure. While I, on the other hand, combined my dad's features with mom. That's why I have a sharp jawline,milk-chocolate brown skin, dull brown eyes, and slightly full and plump lips. My little sister looks exactly like my dad, the only difference is that she isn't as quiet as him.
"Congratulations, daddy and mummy."
Melody squealed our ears off, and I took it as an opportunity to leave but not before I mumbled my congratulations. I packed the plate to take care of the dishes while my little sister followed after me with the rest. It was 6:30 am, and I had precisely 30 mins left to wash the plate and be in school immediately after.
Once I have cleared the dinner table, I went back to the kitchen sink to start, but my brother's voice stopped me.
"What are you doing? It's 6:30 already, c'mon, get yourself to school." He said.
"But the dishes, you already--" I tried to speak.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of it. I'll be home for another two weeks, so it's on me. Now go." He insisted.
"Awwwwn, thanks Miguel, you're the best."
With that, I hugged him tightly before exiting the kitchen and reappearing in the sitting room. I picked up my school bags, and so did my little sister Melody, who was watching my every move. We bade our parents good bye, got out of the house, and headed for our garage. On getting there, I picked up the car keys to my Dad's Grey Porsche - told you we are not poor, and no, we didn't steal the car either.
Driving out of the garage, I packed safely in the driveway beside our house. I helped my sister get into the backseat of the passenger's side before hopping back into the driver's side, adjusting the head mirror. I smirked at her, and she said.
"Next stop, Wesley Academy, here we come!"
"You got It, Melody!"
I chuckled at her excitement, she was officially about to start Junior secondary school 1 (J.S.S.1) at Wesley Academy, and I was about to begin my last year in secondary school. Putting the car in drive, i zoomed off, heading straight for our school. I made sure to take all the possible shortcuts in other to avoid traffic.